MauritiusMauritius is an island located in the Indian Ocean about 800km (550 miles) east of Madagascar and 2,000 km (1,250 mi) off the nearest point of the African coast. The island of Rodrigues, an integral part of Mauritius, is located about 560 km (350 miles) off its northeastern coast. Mauritius is mostly of volcanic formation and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs. A coastal plain, widest in the north, rises sharply to a 1,500 ft high plateau bordered by three mountain ranges - the Black River Range, the Grand Port Range, and the Moka Range. The longest river is the Grand River South East,, about 25 miles in length...More Information on Mauritius. Full country name: Republic of MauritiusArea: 1860 sq km (725 sq mi) Population: 1.2 million Capital City: Port Louis (pop 150,000) People: Indo-Mauritian (68%), Creole (27%), Sino-Mauritian (3%), Franco-Mauritian (2%) Language: English, Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori Religion: Hindu (51%), Christian (30%), Muslim (17%) Government: Parliamentary democracy Head of State: Karl Offmann Head of Government: Sir Anerood Jugnauth History of MauritiusWhile Arab and Malay sailors knew of Mauritius as early as the 10th century AD and Portuguese sailors first visited in the 16th century, the island was first colonized in 1638 by the Dutch. Mauritius was populated over the next few centuries by waves of traders, planters and their slaves, indentured laborers, merchants, and artisans. The island was named in honor of Prince Maurice of Nassau by the Dutch, who abandoned the colony in 1710. The French claimed Mauritius in 1715 and renamed it Ile de France. It became a prosperous colony under the French East India Company...More on Mauritius's History. Overview of Mauritius's EconomyGDP: US$11.7 billion Also Read: A short note on Economy of Mauritius Political System of Mauritius- Government of Mauritius Climate, Vegetation and FaunaMauritius has two kinds of climate. Below the 400-meter level on most of the windward (southeastern) side of the island and below 450 meters on the leeward side, a humid, subtropical climate prevails. Above these altitudes, the climate is more temperate, but there is no sharp break, and variations in exposure, altitude, and distance from the sea produce a wide range of patterns. The island has two seasons. The hot and wet summer lasts from November through April. February is the warmest month with temperatures averaging 27° C in the lowlands and 22° C on the plateau.Cyclone season runs from December through March, and the storms, which come from the northeast, have caused much destruction on the island over the years. For example, Cyclone Hollanda hit Mauritius February 10, 1994, leaving 1,400 persons homeless, and damaging 60 percent of the electrical system and 50 percent of the telephone network, as well as destroying between 20 and 30 percent of the sugarcane plantation. The overall cost of this cyclone was estimated at US$81 million...more Envoirnment: Mauritius is a volcanic island, measuring 58km (36mi) from north to south...more. Languages: English and French are the official languages of Mauritius...more. Education: The education system in Mauritius, patterned after the British model...more. Culture: Over half the population of Mauritius is Hindu and roughly another...more. Facts for the TravelerVisas: All visitors are required to
have a passport and onward ticket in order to get a visa. Renewable
one-month visas may be granted on arrival, although it may be better
to contact a Mauritian embassy prior to your visit.
Health risks: Slight risk of malaria; proof of yellow fever vaccination is required of those entering Mauritius from an infected area. Time: GMT/UTC plus four hours Electricity:220V or 125V, 50 Hz Weights & measures: Metric Also Read: Money & Costs | Transport And Getting Around | Public holidays in Mauritius When to GoApart from the busy Christmas to New Year period, Mauritius doesn’t really have a high or low season. The depths of Mauritian ‘winter’ occur from July to September, when daytime temperatures drop from sticky to balmy. With less rain and humidity, this is one of the choicest times to visit. Weatherwise, the least agreeable period is from January to April, when the long days can prove too hot and humid for some and the threat of cyclones is in the air. Visitors should be prepared to spend several days cooped up indoors during extra-heavy rains. December through March is the best time for diving, when the waters are at their clearest; June through August is best for surfing; and October through April is excellent for big game fishing, when the large predators feed close to shore Also Read: Getting Around in Mauritius | Getting There & Away What to See in MauritiusOther Tourist Attractions in Mauritius more...What to do in MauritiusMany hotels provide windsurfing and kayaking equipment for their guests, and for those who prefer less strenuous communing, there’s usually a glass-bottom boat to be found. For Jules Verne fans, lead-booted, bubble-headed ‘undersea walks’ can be arranged near Grand Baie reef, as can a ride on La Nessee, a semi-submersible boat - sort of like a submarine - that allows a close-up tour of the reefs without the nuisance of getting wet. Surfing was big on the island in the 1970s, until the rising costs of airfare and accommodation drove surfers to seek bluer pastures. Now, with vacation costs back to bearable, the crowds are picking up again. The area around Tamarin is said to be the best spot to drop in, and the season lasts from around June to August. Diving around the island is not especially interesting, save for off the outer isle of Cargados Carajos, but there are no dive operators there. On Mauritius, the best dive sites are around Flic en Flac on the west coast. Snorkelling is a better proposition, with over-the-side boat trips running from most major hotels and from Grand Baie beach. The best swimming beaches are all at the northern end of the island...more
The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during a series of migrations. The southern part of the country was named Matabeleland after the Ndebele tribe who occupied the area in the early 1800’s under a loose confederation of Ndebele-speaking tribes headed by the Khumalo tribe under [...]
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Religion in Africa
Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, with Christianity and Islam being the most widespread. Approximately 40% of all Africans are Christians and another 40% Muslims. Roughly 20% of Africans primarily follow indigenous African religions. A small number of Africans also have beliefs from the Judaic tradition, such as the Beta Israel [...]
Culture of Africa
Africa has a number of overlapping cultures. The most conventional distinction is that between sub-Saharan Africa and the northern countries from Egypt to Morocco, who largely associate themselves with Arabic culture. In this comparison, the nations to the south of the Sahara are considered to consist of many cultural areas, in particular [...]
Demographics of Africa
Africans may be grouped according to whether they live north or south of the Sahara Desert; these groups are called North Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans, respectively. Afro-Asiatic speaking peoples predominate in North Africa, while Sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by a number of disparate populations grouped according to their diverse languages–Niger-Congo predominantly in West [...]
Economy of Africa
Africa is the world’s poorest inhabited continent: the United Nations’ Human Development Report 2003 (of 175 countries) found that positions 151 (Gambia) to 175 (Sierra Leone) were taken up entirely by African nations.
It has had (and in some ways is still having) a shaky and uncertain transition from colonialism, with increases in corruption [...]
Politics in Africa
Colonial Africa
Colonialism had a destabilizing effect on what had been a number of ethnic groups that is still being felt in African politics. Prior to European influence, national borders were not much of a concern, with Africans generally following the practice of other areas of the world, such as the Arabian peninsula, where [...]
History of Africa
Africa is home to the oldest inhabited territory on earth, with the human race originating from this continent. During the mid 20th century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. The famous Leakey family, with ties to both Britain and Africa, discovered fossil [...]
Geography of Africa
Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earth’s surface. It includes within its remarkably regular outline an area, of c. 30,360,288 km² (11,722,173 mi²), including the islands.
Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the [...]
Etymology of Africa
The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra - “land of the Afri” (plural, or “Afer” singular) - for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day Tunisia.
The Afri were a tribe - possibly Berber [...]
Travel Mantra: Africa Destination Guide
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